Oh Deer!

Well yesterday was an eventful day.  On the way home from Billings, Montana with my son-in-law we stopped in Pocatello, Idaho where I picked up my red 2002 Toyota Camry and headed home to West Jordan, Utah and he continued on his way to Boise, Idaho.  At about 4:00 p.m. with the sun shining brightly and roads clear as a spring day I was doing about 75 miles per hour looking forward to getting home when what to my wondering eyes should appear but a highway engulfed by 5 prancing deer.  Out of nowhere they seemed to come.  I hit the brakes as hard as I could and the front of the car took a dive and then deer bodies seemed to go everywhere.  One came up the hood smashing the driver’s side front fender and hood sliding up the hood onto the windshield and over the top of the car.  Another one landed on the hood and took a similar rout across the passenger’s side removing the mirror on that side of the car.  By the time I got to a complete stop I looked like a comedy scene out of a “B” rated movie.  Steam pouring off the engine the front of my car demolished, the drivers door won’t open and I am sitting there wide eyed, as cars pass by the scene with little interest, thinking what do I do know.  If you hit a car or if some one is injured you call the police or 911.  But I was blank.  Who do I call?  Animal control?  So I did the logical thing.  I called my wife.  Honey, I hit some deer!  Now I don’t know what I expected her to do about it, but that was my first call.  She suggested I might want to call the police and the insurance company.  Interestingly enough once again she was right.  I had the car taken to a body shop, got a rental car and completed the trip home.  So it was an Oh Deer day.  To bad about the deer.  But “My Dear” had the right answers and the encouragement as usual.

What If we asked more questions?

I was talking with my friend Rodger a couple of days ago and he shared with me about how God did some amazing things in a church he had pastored and how he longed to see those things happen again. I went back with him in my mind as he described how a young lady accepted Christ in get acquainted fellowships and how when she expressed her desire to accept Christ that others raised their hands and said they to wanted to make that decision. He and his staff were just blessed at the experience that had no explanation except God moved. I have been thinking about that ever since.

How well I remember sitting in my office shortly after being called to my first full time pastor position and thinking, “I am the pastor of University Baptist Church… and I do not have a clue what to do.” Oh, I new I had to be prepared to preach twice on Sunday and have a Bible study ready for Wednesday night but I had been doing that for some time. Now I was the full time pastor. Where was the church going? Who were we going to reach? How do you get people to come? What are they going to expect to be here if they do come? How were we going to make a difference in people’s lives? How were we going to impact the community around us? My life at that point seemed to be one big question after another and I did not have any answers. If I had really thought about it at that time it would have scared me to death. But it seemed that all I knew to do was to follow up on things that God put in my path. Someone would visit the church and I would go to their house and visit. Someone would be moving and I would take a couple of guys and help them move. Some one would look sad and I would ask what was wrong? When I would visit with people I had no agenda. In fact I really did not know what I was doing. So when you don’t know what you are doing it seemed to me that the best thing to do was to ask questions. I remember sitting for long periods of time and just ask questions about peoples lives and what was going on with them. I loved it. I was constantly amazed at people’s journeys. When you don’t have answers you tend to ask questions.

I wonder when I got so smart? Now I really don’t think I am so smart, but I know some where along the line I have quit asking so many questions and started answering questions and offering my opinion a whole lot more and it seems like I have seen a lot less of God working. I think God likes to be around more when there are questions than when we think we have the answers.

I think I will try to get back to asking questions.

Where is the Undo Button when you need ?

I was working on a word document today and suddenly I noticed I had a tool bar missing.  I just hate it when that happens.  I really like the tool bars on my computer.  It is so easy to get things just right.  In fact I think we should have “Life Tool Bars”.  Copy and paste is good. If you have done something really well once then you don't have to risk messing up the next time.  Just copy and paste!  Now it is exactly the way it was the last time you got it right.  Insert is helpful too, did you forget something?  An appointment?  A birthday?  An anniversary?  No problem, just hit insert and if you forgot to do something there it is.  It got done in the right place at the right time.  But maybe the one we need most is the Undo button.  Did you hurt someone’s feelings, or do some embarrassing thing?  When you messed something up real bad there is that wonderful little button that just takes it away as though it never happened.  I used to have a boss that would say "Walker, you just missed another perfectly good opportunity to keep your mouth shut." Where is the undo button when you need it?

Jackson Walker Peery

I am relatively certain that you have been searching the web for hours trying to find this blog spot because you heard that it contains the pictures of my new grandson, Jackson Walker Peery


Of course you also undoubtedly wanted to see the picture of his older brother being baptized. Hudson accepted Christ about a year ago but his pastor was in Iraq as a chaplain and they waited for him to get home so that he could do the honor. Here is that picture as well.

Put a "Patch" on it

I went to Wal-Mart yesterday to get a prescription filled and while I was waiting I was looking through some movies they had on sale for $7.50 and among them was “Patch Adams”. That was an excellent movie so I strained our budget and bought it. Tonight I was watching it and I love the priceless little bits of wisdom that are spread throughout the movie. I have been struggling with the behavior of some people I have to relate to and I found this interesting parallel in the movie.
Dean Walcott (the Dean of the Medical school) seems to have a particular disdain for Patch and his care free antics (which brightens the life of the patients and encourages them). Walcott with his arrogance raging is throwing “Patch” out of school and “Patch” says, “Why am I such a threat to you?” Dean Walcott says to “Patch” Adams, “Because you want us to get down there on the level as our patients.”
It is interesting to me how an education, title, or position can inflate some people’s ego to the point that they are unable to do the job that they have trained and studied to do. They pay thousands of dollars for the education and work long hours to reach a position only to become totally ineffective and blinded by arrogance.
But for $7.50 at Wal-Mart you can get a real life education.


1 Samuel 2:3 (NLT)
"Stop acting so proud and haughty!
Don't speak with such arrogance!
The Lord is a God who knows your deeds;
and he will judge you for what you have done.

Getting Started

I have been fooling around with this for about 3 hours now and it is 1:45 a.m. and I have to go to work in just a few hours. So this first Blog is just about as simple as the come.